WATCH AND WAIT: Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, working back from knee surgery, has mostly been on the sidelines through camp as coach Mike Shanahan remains reluctant to hurry his prize pupil back.AP

WATCH AND WAIT: Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, working back from knee surgery, has mostly been on the sidelines through camp as coach Mike Shanahan remains reluctant to hurry his prize pupil back. (AP)

RICHMOND, Va. — Mike Shanahan’s actions are matching his words so far, and that’s a good thing for the Redskins.

The NFL’s most fascinating battle of wills — a headstrong Robert Griffin III against his Super Bowl-winning head coach — won’t truly come to a head until Washington’s regular-season opener a month from now, but Shanahan is the one staying strong.

That was obvious each day of training camp in the past week, as Griffin’s surgically repaired right knee reduced him mostly to the role of frustrated bystander at practice.

Griffin’s workload was gradually increased throughout the week, but that practice time still doesn’t include 11-on-11 team drills, during which backups Kirk Cousins, Rex Grossman and Pat White ran the offense instead. Shanahan already has ruled out using his franchise passer in any preseason games.

It isn’t what RG3 or the team’s rabid fan base wants to hear, but it’s smart.

“It’s not easy to sit around and watch,” Griffin admitted this week after the fourth practice of camp. “I call it ‘Operation Patience,’ and that’s what I’ve got to be. I’ve got to be patient.”

Patience and an iron will were certainly in short supply during Griffin’s breakout 2012 rookie season — for Shanahan, that is.

As starved for victories as the rest of this Redskins-obsessed region, Shanahan appeared too often to let Griffin dictate the next football steps when it came to the former Heisman Trophy winner’s health.

Letting the player instead of the head coach or medical staff lead the way was a recipe for disaster — and a disaster is what Shanahan seemed to end up with last January when an obviously injured Griffin was allowed to hobble on one leg through two quarters of a home playoff loss to the Seahawks.

The outcome was surgery for Griffin and an avalanche of criticism for Shanahan, who has responded by stiffening his spine despite what appears to be a miraculously fast recovery for the Redskins’ insanely popular star.

But after watching how meekly Shanahan seemed to defer to a rookie last year, there’s still good reason to wonder how long he can maintain his vow of caution — especially with notorious micromanager Daniel Snyder looking over his shoulder from the owner’s suite.

Griffin isn’t helping matters for Shanahan, either, stoking expectations ever higher with constant stories of amazing progress just six months removed from extensive knee surgery. How diligent has Griffin been? He even rehabbed his knee in Nice, France, last month while on his honeymoon.

Given all that pressure and momentum, it would appear to be a tall order for Shanahan — assuming he truly wants to do so — to stand in the way of Griffin starting Week 1 against the Eagles at FedEx Field.

Griffin still walks with a slight limp and admitted he continues to feel a lot of “nagging pain” in his right knee. In light of that, Shanahan and the Redskins shouldn’t feel any need to rush him back for the season opener, especially considering Cousins looks to be a very capable fill-in.

It’s not as if the Redskins are going to win any prizes for hurrying back their franchise cornerstone the fastest.

Then again, the question remains whether Griffin can stay healthy for any extended period of time given his fearless playing style and the vulnerability any quarterback faces in an option offense. He did suffer two significant knee injuries and a rib injury in his first NFL season.

So faced with heavy expectations and the realization he never will be able to bubble-wrap a football free spirit like Griffin, will Shanahan still be able to say “no” to RG3 six weeks from now if the circumstances require it?

The answer promises to be fascinating. For now, though, Shanahan continues to play the responsible adult to Griffin’s impatient kid in this closely watched relationship.

“As I’ve stated before,” Shanahan said, “we’re going to do the best for Robert.”